


To Hell and Back

by 2space_lesbo1



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - World War II, Blood, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gun Violence, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Racism, Slurs, Soldiers, Some Fluff, World War II, america hates japan and all, cause ya know, cursing, it's world war two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 14:49:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18830860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2space_lesbo1/pseuds/2space_lesbo1
Summary: Ash Lynx is a sergeant in the American Army, stationed to fight in the Pacific Islands. He and the others hate the Japanese. So what happens when they capture two of them?





	To Hell and Back

**Author's Note:**

> This... is... my longest fic yet. and i wrote it in two days! and it's not beta read, like the usual! tell me of any errors and i'll try to fix them! and, the japanese characters are from google translate, so they're bad! sorry, i don't speak japanese lol. 
> 
> i've been studying and researching World War Two again, because it's one of my favorite times in history to learn about. i tried my best to make this historically accurate, and even added in a few tidbits of real historical information that happened in WW2. if you can recognize any of these references, lemme know. i love discussing history :D 
> 
> please be warned now, there is racism against not just the Japanese but also occasionally the Chinese and other Asian nationalities. there is a repeated usage of slurs(such as N*p, J*p, and Ch*nk) so be aware of that usage. there is also implied homophobia. but remember guys, this takes place in the 40's when this was all normal shit. which i hated writing but whatever lol. 
> 
> edit: changed the title cause of the slur whoops
> 
> so uh, enjoy!

They had managed to capture two Japanese dogs the other day. Apparently they had been left behind among the rubble of the town that had been raided, cowering and not in uniform. One looked to be in his mid thirties while the other looked like a kid. Jesus Christ, Ash thought. They were taking them in younger and younger everyday. 

Not as if the United States could speak for itself any better. 

The two Japanese were found hiding in the rubble of what had once been an island hut, the kid clutching what appeared to be a camera close to his chest. The elder had stood up as soon as the Americans began to pour in, his hands raised high above his head as he began yelling in a very accented voice, “We surrender, we surrender!” 

They didn't even look like soldiers. But maybe that's how they tricked you, Ash mused, watching as the two are dragged from the rubble. He stays to the side, keeping a grip on his assault rifle as he keeps an eye out for any other Japs that maybe returning to fetch these two. 

Then again, from what Ash had heard about the Japs, that wasn't really their thing. 

“Get a move on, Nips,” the commanding officer shouted, hitting the younger of the two Japanese men in the back of his head. The kid stumbles, and Ash has to look away. He doesn't necessarily like the Japanese, especially after what they did to Pearl Harbor and the POWs, but this guy looked like a kid. Kids shouldn't be treated like that no matter where they came from. 

“Please,” the elder Japanese began in broken English once more, clasping his hands together in a pleading gesture. “We not soldiers. We mean no harm to you.” 

“Don't care right now,” the commanding officer bellowed, and gestured for them to continue moving towards the newly set up base. Had to stick to the League of Nations accords, after all. Too far with the abuse and he could get a court martial for war crimes. “Keep an eye on them, soldiers. Never trust the Japs.” 

Ash grimaces, and follows after the group as they begin to head back. He flinched when an arm is slung across his shoulders suddenly, and it takes all he can not to push it off instantly. He would have if he hadn't caught the shock of purple hair in the corner of his eye. He honestly doesn't know how Shorter has kept his hair like that after joint the military. They hadn't even let Ash’s hair grow past the top of his ear in the first few months. 

“That's right!” Shorter exclaimed, grinning towards Ash. “Never trust a Jap!” 

Ash rolls his eyes and does push Shorter’s arm from his shoulder now. He does have an image to uphold. He could feel Alex’s, Kongs’ and Bones’ eyes all watching him. And he needed to maintain an air of respect with them, because once their commanding officer wasn't leading the group, this was Ash’s patrol. 

“Right, even though you were almost sent to a camp for looking like one yourself,” Ash said pointedly, sending an evil smirk to Shorter. 

Shorter feigns hurt dramatically, and would have been even louder and caused more of a scene if it had been Ash leading the patrol. “I can't believe anyone would ever mistake my handsome face for one of the ugly Nips!” 

“You look just like one!” Yut-Lung informs from the other side of the patrol, his sharp eyes never leaving the two Japanese men. Ash stares at Yut-Lung for a few seconds too long, not entirely trusting the Chinese transfer, and he notices. The Chinese soldier smirks and winks to Ash, “See something you like, Sergeant Lynx?” 

Ash grimaces now as Shorter bursts out into laughter. “Sorry, Private Lee,” Ash said. “I'm not desperate enough.” 

“We’ll see,” Yut-Lung said airily, his ponytail whipping as he looked away from the Americans. 

“Anyways, I look nothing like a Jap,” Shorter said, resuming their previous conversation. “That's just insulting.” 

Yut-Lung’s airy voice drifts back to them, “We Asians all look the same to them, Wong. You’ll learn that pretty quickly.” 

\----

Ash hadn't seen the two Japanese men since they had returned to the base. The commanding officer had taken them to the prison part of the camp, and Ash had gone to the cafeteria. His patrol followed. 

“You think those Japs’ll be interrogated?” Alex inquires conversationally as he sits down at the same table as Ash. Ash pushes the mush that had been served today around on the tray, grabbing the only solid thing- a piece of crumbling bread. 

“Well of course they will be,” Shorter answered, sitting down beside Ash. He somehow has managed to grab three pieces of the bread. Ash snags one when he isn't looking. “I bet they know all kinds of information.” 

“I don't know,” Ash said, picking at the bread. “They said they were civilians. And one of them looked like a kid.” 

“You seriously gonna fall for that crap?” Shorter asked. 

“I'm just saying.” 

“Well what you're saying is dumb.” 

“Whatever,” Ash said with the roll of his eyes. He bites into the bread, the thing breaking into hundred of flakes in his mouth and on the table. It tasted like dry paper. 

\----

“Sergeant Lynx.” 

Ash looks up from the card game Shorter, Alex and Kong was playing to Yut-Lung’s face. The Chinese soldier is leaning against the doorframe to the barracks, looking mildly bored. 

“They want us on guard duty.” 

So Ash pushes from the bed and walks from the room, ignoring Shorter’s sympathetic calls. Yut-Lung walks a few steps ahead of him, a pistol on his belt. Ash stops at the weapons area and grabs both his own pistol and a rifle. He has the feeling he wouldn't be needing these, but he has to keep an appearance up. 

“Do you know when they're going to be shipped to the US?” Ash asked of Yut-Lung as they neared the holding cell. 

Yut-Lung hardly spares a glance over his shoulder at the American. “Probably once we’ve finished interrogating them.” 

They reach the holding cell- a small room that could hardly regularly be called a cell- and the previous guards stand, stretching. “They're mostly quiet,” one of the guards from another patrol tells Ash. He thinks this guard’s name is Caine. “I don't think one of ‘em even knows how to speak English.” He shakes his head. “Poor Japs.” 

Ash takes the place where Caine has been before, glancing into the holding cell. 

It was a small room, previously used as some kind of office before the whole building was converted for war. There was a makeshift cot on either side and not much else. There wasn't even a window. Ash would go insane in there if he were one of the Japs. 

Both of the Japanese men are sitting on either of the cots, facing one another. They're speaking in quiet Japanese, as though trying not to catch the attention of their captors. The younger of the two looks horrified, his large brown eyes wide. Ash hadn't even known a Jap’s eyes could get that wide. From all of the propaganda he’d seen when they'd first started the war, he'd known the Japanese to be squinty eyed, ugly devils. 

But the younger one looked nothing like that. 

He looked like an innocent kid dragged into what every soldier knew to be hell. Ash hated that fact for the kid, but he also knew there wasn't anything to be done about it. 

The elder looked tired and worn, and horribly nervous. 

Ash does his best to ignore the two Japanese men. They're POWs. They're enemies of America. They're the ones who bombed Pearl Harbor and are torturing the poor people on the islands they forcefully take over. 

Ash and the other Americans were liberating the islands. They were fighting for the good of the world. 

So why did his stomach turn every time he saw the Japanese kid so upset? 

\----

“How're interrogations goin’?” Ash looks up when Shorter asks this of Yut-Lung as the Chinese soldier returns from guard duty a few days later. Apparently the interrogations had been proceeding for the past couple of days, and Yut-Lung was there sometimes to possibly overhear them. Ash hasn't been placed on guard duty recently, probably due to the fact he and the rest of his squad had been deployed into a few fights since then. 

“Same as usual,” Yut-Lung replies dismissively. He sprawls out on his bunk, the one above Shorter’s. “They say they know nothing.” 

“They should send Ash in,” Alex remarks from his own bunk, Bones sitting across from him as they play some sort of card game. Which Alex was winning. “He made the last Japs talk.” 

Ash doesn't respond to that. He just keeps his head leaned back against the wall behind his bunk, eyes shut lightly. But he can feel Yut-Lung’s eyes on him. 

“Is that so?” the Chinese man remarks. “I’ll talk to the Corporal.” 

\-----

It wasn’t long after that that the Corporal was stepping into their bunk room and calling Ash’s name. Ash sends Yut-Lung a glare, which the Chinese man easily ignores. He's always hated interrogating people, no matter who it is. He hates finding out how they tick and their weaknesses and everything else. It was annoying and time consuming. 

“Private Lee told us of your interrogation records,” the Corporal says as they walk through the halls. It is just the two of them aside for a few other soldiers who run or walk past to wherever they're going. “Why did you not step forward before?” 

“I didn't think it appropriate,” Ash replied simply, staring into the small room as they approached it. 

“Ah,” the Corporal said, not sounding the least bit convinced. “Well, that aside, do it now. Find out what part of the army they were apart of, what they know, and all of that shit.” 

“Yes sir,” Ash said, and he steps into the room. Both Japanese men look up at him immediately. His skin crawls as soon as they do, the kid’s large, chocolate eyes locking onto his. This was going to be a tad difficult. 

Ash steps into the center of the room, which wasn't too difficult given the size. He then turns so that he could face both of them, his pistol half concealed in his belt. He could feel the Japanese kid’s eyes burning into it. 

“Hello,” he greeted, looking between both of them. The elder is once more nervous and they both avoid eye contact, as though meeting his gaze would result in some kind of burn or illness. Ash didn't like that. “My name is Ash, and I've been assigned to interrogate you-”

“We know nothing!” the elder exclaimed, his eyes pleading. “We have told the others same thing, no one listens.” 

Ash pauses and sighs. “Be that as it may, I'm here to get every bit of info you have,” he looks the kid in the eye. “So to start. What are your names?” 

The elder deflates only a little, his lips pressing into a thin line. “I am Ibe Shunichi, and he Okumura Eiji. Both were photographers, taking pictures of war for country.” 

“And he doesn't know English?” Ash asked, waving a hand at the kid’s- Eiji’s- face. 

Eiji blinks and leans back slightly, eyes still boring into the floor. “I know little,” he said, and Ash is actually surprised. Eiji has only spoken in Japanese since they'd brought him here, and even then he'd spoken very little. His voice was small and quiet, almost as if he were afraid to speak above a whisper. 

“Then why haven't you spoken?” Ash asked then. 

“I was afraid.” 

“Afraid of what?” 

Eiji swallows, and now he finally looks up, meeting brown eyes with green. “Afraid of what the Americans would do to us.” 

\----

“How did it go?” Yut-Lung inquires as Ash walks back into the room. He flops on his bed face first. 

“Fuck off,” Ash said, speaking into his thin pillow. 

Shorter snorts, and Yut-Lung doesn't try talking to him anymore. 

\---- 

On his second visit to the Japanese, Ash’s patrol was deployed without him. Shorter had been placed in charge while he was stuck interrogating. He hated this. He wanted to be there with his men, not tucked safely indoors. 

He also noticed the fact that Eiji was more fluent in English than Ibe was, forming better and more coherent sentences. He began speaking more than the elder man, as though they'd switched roles. He also became a tad more confident when speaking, though Ash could see the fear there. 

“So you're sticking to the photographer story?” Ash asked of Eiji, his arms crossed over his chest. The Jap nods determinedly. 

“Yes. Because it is the truth,” Eiji replies stubbornly. 

“Okay, right,” Ash said. He keeps his voice sounding as though he didn't believe the Jap, when in reality, he did. The story checks out, and even his own army brings photographers along sometimes. So of course the Japs could do the same thing. But he has to be sure. And while he normally would have begun the torture with all kinds of equipment- the higher ups allowing him to do this always kept their mouths shut. Better to get information than look like idiots- Eiji looks way too innocent for him to do anything with malice intent towards him. Which was strange, really. “So what were you and Ibe doing out there?” 

Eiji draws in a breath. “We were taking photos for our newspaper,” he explained. “We wanted to show how the war really looked to our people.” 

“Uh huh,” Ash said. “So what unit were you with?” 

“We were with the 140th division,” Eiji answered, and Ash has to hide his surprise with how easily the Jap had given the information away. Normally, the Japs were one of the hardest POWs to interrogate, only surpassed by the Germans. Italians were always the easiest to make talk. “We were told we could take photos of them in their base, and that we could possibly take photos of fighting if it happened.” He smiled shakily. “Which it did.” 

“And so they just left you?” 

“Well, yes,” Eiji said, losing his small smile. His eyes slowly travel to the ground once more. “We were not fast enough to keep up.” 

Ash couldn't believe this. He should be able to. The Japanese were a horrible people, leaving behind the weak or injured so that the cowards could get away. Yet Eiji nor Ibe had been injured, and they seemed to be in good health. It just baffles him what the Japs’ll do sometimes. 

“Do you know where they were going when they fled?” Ash asked then, returning to what he should mostly be focusing on. The military movements, where they were going, as well as their numbers and strengths. Not what two photographers were taking pictures of. 

“All I know is that they were to head inland if trouble came,” Eiji said. Ibe nods as well. “They said ‘Go inland and hide in brush. Take Americans by surprise if they follow.’” 

Ash hums in acknowledgment. “And why are you giving this information so easily? I thought all you Nips were supposed to be loyal until death,” he remarked, not missing the wince at the word “nip”. So the Jap was familiar with the American slur usage. He'd have to take note of that. 

“That is mostly the soldiers,” Eiji said. “They are sworn into military, and if they show in weakness, they are beat. They know they will die if they give the information, and they know they will also die if they don't.” He shrugged. “I am not a soldier, so I am not sworn in military. I am civilian photographer.” He offers Ash another smile then. “So I can tell you whatever you want, as long as you do not kill Ibe and me.”

Okay. What? The Japanese seriously believed that they would be killed at the hands of the Americans? That was so surprising, Ash is sure his shock is shown on his face for a few seconds. He catches himself a moment later, steeling his face once more. 

“Neither you or Ibe will be harmed,” Ash informed them. Because if he didn't torture them, then no one else would. He’s noticed that these past two years of his military service. Which was strange, since when he'd first started, he was only 17 years old. Which yeah, you're only supposed to join the army after turning 18, but Ash had been impatient as soon as Shorter was being shipped off that he lied on his papers and was shipped out anyway. He doesn't miss the irony of that, either. Most people tried to escape the drafts if they didn't yet need to serve, while he was doing his best to rush into it. “Why would you believe you would be harmed?” He recalls the fact that Griffin was now a POW, just as Eiji was. 

“We won't?” Eiji looked and sounded surprised now. He doesn't even try to hide it. “But… they said, if captured, we get killed.” 

“They lied,” Ash said blandly. 

What kind of propaganda did the Japs sell about them? It made him sick to his stomach to think about. 

\----

Ash eats quietly in the cafeteria later that night, sitting alone at the table he and his squad normally ate at. The room was mostly empty, because of the fact most had been sent out to fight more. 

“You get any information?” it was the commanding officer. He stands over Ash’s table, thick arms over his large chest. If Ash had to choose his favorite commanding officer out of the places he'd been deployed, this man would have to be it. He was patient and mostly kind to his soldiers. Just not to POWs as much, especially if they were Japanese. Which made sense with what the Japs have done to their fellow Americans. 

Ash nods. “They headed inland,” he relayed the information. “So you may want to bring back the squads that were sent towards the shore. They are also hidden, waiting to pounce.”

“Well that's just fucking great,” the officer mumbled. Ash squints his eyes to try and read his name tag, having never done so before. He's never wanted to before. Lobo. Ash would have to remember him. “Thanks, Lynx. Keep getting that information out of em.” 

“Yes sir,” Ash replied, watching the officer walk from the cafeteria after that. He finishes his dinner- more mush- and heads back for his room. He wanted to wait for his squad’s return. 

\---

“What a waste of damn time!” Shorter yells, burying his face in the pillow and letting out a half hearted scream. Ash keeps his distance from the recently returned patrol, all of the men smelling like sweat and vegetation. “I think I got bit by at least a million bugs!” 

“Try two mil,” Bones mutters unhappily from his bunk, and Ash could see the allergic reaction already starting across his skin. Ash was not envious of their trip out now. “I swear they got me everywhere.” 

“Oh stop complaining,” Yut-Lung said to them, leaning back on his bed with his legs crossed. “It wasn't that bad.” 

“It was one hundred and twenty fucking degrees out there!” Shorter yelled, glaring at the Chinese man. 

Yut-Lung shrugs with a roll of his eyes. “One, I don't understand your terrible degrees system,” he holds up a finger. “And two, this place is just like home.” 

Shorter grimaces at him. “Fucking Chink.” 

“You're Chinese too, may I remind you!” Yut-Lung exclaimed, glaring in return now. 

“But there's one difference between you and me, Lee,” Shorter said, and Ash shakes his head. 

“Oh yeah? What's that?” 

“I was born in America.” 

\----

“How many men are with 140th?” Ash asked, sitting on a stool Corporal Lobo has given him that day. Thank god he could sit now. He'd felt so awkward standing over the two Japs. 

“I don't know… I think 1500,” Eiji replied. Then he catches himself. “No, it was 1700.” 

“Do you know what kind of vehicles they have?” 

“Only a few cars.” 

“No tanks?”

“No tanks.” 

Ash nods, noting the information down on an imaginary notecard in his mind. 

“Ash?” 

Ash looks up. Eiji was staring at him. Huh. That was the first time the Jap had referred to him by name. It seems to have left a bad taste in his mouth, though. Ash did know that in Japanese culture, you were hardly supposed to refer to another man by their first name. 

“Yes?” 

“Can you…” he trails off. “Would we be able to live in America? After the War?” 

Ash blinks. He hadn't been expecting that. 

“What?” 

“Could we live in America after the War?” Eiji repeats. 

That didn't make much sense. Most Japs- okay. Eiji hadn't been much like “most Japs” these past few days. Why would he-? Oh. What if they were trying to get there to be spies? 

“Why would you want to move there?” Ash asked, deciding to try and worm out any suspicious motives for moving there. He would not allow any spies to slip past the American borders. “Don't you love Japan? Don't you fear us Americans?” 

Eiji looks down at the ground, grabbing fistfuls of the thin blanket on his bed. “Yes,” he answered a moment later. 

“Then why?” 

“For better opportunities,” Eiji replies. “Always heard of how America is land of the free and opportunities since I was young. Only now have they started calling you monsters that hunger for blood.” He pauses. “You do not seem so bad, though.” 

Ash wants to laugh at that statement. He was pretty bad. He had blood on his hands from two years of fighting and torturing and he doesn't think he’ll ever have them cleaned. 

He then leans forward, towards Eiji so that their breaths were mingling together. The Jap flushes, and they both seem to forget Ibe is also in the room. 

“If that's what you wanted,” Ash said. “You shouldn't have bombed Pearl Harbor.” 

\----

“He wants to move to America!” Ash exclaimed, still hardly believing it. He normally tried to hold any judgement he has against other races- typically the Japanese- but this was ridiculous. Move somewhere your people bombed and are hated? Where you would most likely be killed? 

“Which one?” Shorter inquires, and only now does Ash remember there are two Japanese prisoners. 

“Oh, uh, the younger one,” he answered. “He does most of the talking.” 

“Really?” Shorter said. “He hardly spoke before.” 

“Yeah, well, now he talks and the other doesn't,” he said incrudently. 

“How many men they got?” Shorter asked, changing the subject. 

“He said around 1700.” 

Shorter whistles, and Yut-Lung groans. “That's a good number,” Shorter said, nodding his head, as though impressed. 

“What else are you going to ask him?” Yut-Lung asked. 

“Not much more to ask,” Ash said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Probably going to see if he knows where POW camps are and how they're transported, though he probably doesn't know anything about it.” 

“If he's actually a civilian like he's saying,” Shorter points out. Yut-Lung nods his agreement. 

“I believe he is,” Ash said, and he can see Shorter blink in surprise under his sunglasses. “I just know he's been telling the truth this entire time. He's not the soldier type.” 

Shorter grimaces. “That's what they do. But remember, Ash, never trust a Jap.” 

\----

Never trust a Jap, huh? Ash mulls the words over as he walks with Lobo towards the holding cell. Shorter and the squad had been sent out to find the beginnings of the Japanese offense further inland, and Ash was to try and get a little more information from Eiji. 

When he steps in front the door to the holding cell, however, there was something off. 

“Where's the other one?” he asks of Lobo, noticing Lobo’s absence.

“He was sent to a camp ahead,” Lobo replied. “You did say he wasn't giving much information, so why waste supplies on him?” 

Ash frowns, but doesn't respond to this. He nods instead and then steps inside. He hadn't been expecting either of the Japanese prisoners to be sent ahead so quickly. And yet, here was only Eiji sitting on one of the beds, knees pulled to his chest. He uncurls as Ash steps inside, sitting up. 

“Where did they take Ibe?” Eiji asks quickly, as though he was the interrogator. Ash raises an eyebrow and takes a seat on the other bed, ignoring the stool and the question. “You said they don't kill us. Why did you lie? They killed Ibe-?”

“Goddamn, no,” Ash said, interrupting the line of fretful questions. Eiji’s mouth shuts and he sits back again. “They just sent him ahead for a camp where he’ll be kept. They didn't fucking kill him.” 

Eiji’s shoulders drop, as though a weight had just been taken off of them. He nods, and smile gratefully towards Ash. Why the others hadn't told Eiji where they were taking Ibe was beyond Ash, but it hardly mattered in the moment. 

“Anyway,” Ash said, clearing his throat. He leans back on the bed, resting his feet on the stool. Eiji watches him, his eyes suddenly warm with his gratefulness. The look makes Ash’s skin crawl. This Jap was acting as though he could trust Ash with his life, and Ash doesn't know what to do with that. “Do you know where they're keeping the prisoners of war?”

Eiji presses his lips together in thought, face scrunching up, and Ash can't help but find it kind of cute- 

Wait, what the fuck? Cute? A Jap? A male Jap at that? Not only is he the enemy, but he's a man. Ash could not be gay. Sure he wasn't really interested in women like the rest of his squad, but that didn't mean anything. He was just waiting for the right woman. 

Not a fucking dude, man. 

“They keep a large amount of them in Tokyo,” Eiji informed, and Ash has to appreciate how he says the foreign city name. He hadn't even known he and the others were mispronouncing the city name, but now he was completely aware. “There are two camps in Tokyo, though I don't remember their names. Then there's Headless Island in one of the Pacific Islands-” 

“Wait. Why's it called ‘headless island’?” Ash inquires, the name causing his stomach to flip uncomfortably. 

Eiji frowns, and his skin seems to turn green. He hesitates for a few seconds, until he realizes there's no way around this question. He lets out a sharp breath and shuts his eyes as he said, “The prisoners sent there are beheaded with katanas.” 

And there goes Ash’s stomach doing flips again. “You Japs really are horrible, huh?” he asked aloud, surprising both himself and Eiji. 

The Jap swallows heavily, eyes remaining shut. “Is that why you expect death?” Ash continued. He begins to slowly stand, his anger at the Japs boiling in his veins. Never trust a Jap. “Because that's what you put our men too? What else do you do? Starve them?” 

Eiji draws a deep breath through his nose and slowly nods. Ash’s anger grows. “You fucking animals! No wonder you want to get off your island, everyone there is fucking insane!” his voice is raising to a shout, and the Jap flinches. “I bet you murdered him just like that. Like he was nothing but an insect waiting to be squashed under your palm. Is that right?!” He grabs Eiji’s shoulders, slams him into the wall. The Jap gasps. “You killed my brother, didn't you?!” 

Eiji swallows, and stares at him with wide eyes. His lips quiver, and he opens and closes his mouth multiple times before finally speaking, his voice hardly above a strained whisper, “I- I'm sorry.” Tears are in his eyes, and Ash could see what looked like pain in the chocolate browns. “I'm so sorry.” 

Ash grits his teeth, and releases Eiji. The Jap falls to his side on the bed, watching the American draw away. He turns his back on him, the rage slowly giving way to anger, which begins to cool into sadness. 

“You're just a civilian, aren't you? Why are you apologizing?” Ash asked, not moving, not looking over his shoulder. He couldn't move, actually, his veins frozen over with ice. 

Eiji sniffles behind Ash, and the American knew the Jap was crying. His voice shakes like a leaf when he speaks again, “Because nobody else will.” 

\-----

Ash lays back on his bunk that night, the room empty aside from a healing soldier that hardly looked old enough to be here. He looked Asian, and angry, glaring at the wall in front of him. Odd that Ash hadn't seen him before. 

“You just get here?” he'd asked. 

The kid nodded. 

“They letting kids into the army now, huh?” 

The kid narrowed his eyes. “They always did,” he snapped. He had a point. 

Now both Ash and the kid are silent, each leaving the other to their own thoughts. Ash hadn't been alone with his own thoughts, so they all come rushing in as a storm. 

What comes first are the thoughts of Griffin. For two years, he'd held onto the hope that his older brother was still alive, even if he'd gotten the letter from the military telling him that his brother had been taken prisoner. By the Japs. 

He'd hoped he would one day storm a Japanese camp, rescue the prisoners, and find Griffin waiting to give him a hug. 

He'd never even thought of there being these “death camps”. The thought makes him sick. 

He turns over, shutting his eyes tightly as Eiji comes up next, his tear filled eyes boring into him. Why has he been crying? It didn't make sense. He was a civilian, an innocent photographer. Why was he sorry? Why was he feeling for Ash, one of his captors, one of his enemies? 

“Because no one else will.” 

He swallows heavily, bile rising in his throat. 

Never trust a Jap? 

He'd have to ask Shorter what he was supposed to do when a Jap cried for him, leaking the tears from his eyes when he couldn't cry himself. 

\----

“They've got two prison camps in Tokyo as far as Eiji knows,” Ash informs Lobo, leaning against the base wall. The sun spills on their faces through the palm tree leaves, warming his skin. He hadn't been outside for anything but training in a long time, much less for leisure lounging. Lobo would have normally yelled at him to continue running. 

Lobo takes a drag on a cigarette, and Ash watches the smoke disappear into the air. “Eiji?” he said with a hum. Oh. Right. No one but Ash knows the Jap’s name, since they didn't care. 

“The Jap.” 

“Ah. Makes sense.” Another long drag followed by another large cloud of smoke. 

“Could I have one?” Ash inquires, referring to the cigarettes. 

Lobo grimaces at him. “Fine,” he said, handing him one without even looking. “But only one. I'm running low and the next supply drop isn't till next month.”

“Stop smoking so much,” Ash remarked, and let's Lobo light it for him. He takes a slow drag, the smoke helping him ease up. The sun continues to warm his face and skin, and the smoke chases away the mosquitos. 

“Shut up. It's my only solace fighting these Japs.” 

\----

“Tell me about Tokyo?” Ash asks Eiji out of the blue the next day. They stare at each other, both confused by his question. This wasn't along the lines of his regular questioning. He waves a hand in the air as he clarified, “About the prison camps there, I mean.” 

Eiji bites his lip as he thinks about this. “I do not know much, only what is in the papers,” he said. “I lived in Izumo, not Tokyo.” Ash blinks and Eiji chuckles. “Tokyo is not where we all live.” 

“Well, I know that,” Ash said, frowning. “That would be like you thinking I lived in New York. Which I do, but whatever.” He pauses, remembering he needs to get back on track. “Anyways. What else do you know about the camps, POWs, and anything else important.” 

Eiji tilts his head to the side. “What are POWs?” he sounds a tad sheepish, like he was embarrassed he didn't understand an English phrase. Which he shouldn't. He was already doing a great job with speaking so much English. 

“Oh, uh, right,” Ash said. “They're prisoners of war.”

Eiji’s cheeks flush, and again, Ash is hit by how adorable he looks. Wait. There he goes again thinking a man is cute. Why did he keep doing that? He wasn't… a homosexual. 

“Oh, that makes sense,” Eiji said with a sheepish laugh. Okay. He needs to stop acting cute when he shouldn't be. He was really making this difficult for Ash. “I already told you all I know of where they keep the.. POWs. Though, they do transport them on what they call ‘death ships’. I remember hearing the soldiers talking about them.” 

“Do you know what they are?” 

“Ships that look like regular military ships,” Eiji explained. “They make them look like that so you don't know you're shooting your own men.” 

Ash’s stomach really likes to do flips as of recent. The Japanese has no ends to their cruelty, did they? 

“Okay…” Ash said. “Do you know any of the other plans of the 140th on this island?” 

Eiji purses his lips. “I think…” his eyes widen and his head darts up. “They're waiting for reinforcements.” 

Ash shoots to his feet. “What?” 

“They said that if they were attacked, reinforcements would come in a few days after,” Eiji said, his words coming out quicker, his eyes going wider. “They would come here and attack the soldiers and-”

“Shit,” Ash cursed, turning to leave the room. 

But that's when it all went to hell. 

There was high pitched whistling, thudding, and then ear splitting explosions. The room erupts around them, door and all as flames pour into the room. Ash shoots backwards, grabbing Eiji- why that was his first instinct, he isn't sure- and ticks both of them into the corner of the room, the flames and heat licking at the clothes on his back. 

His ears are ringing as the flames die down, and his vision is blurred. His skin burns and there is smoke surrounding them. He slowly draws away from Eiji, his limbs aching as though he'd just been in some kind of marathon. The whole room around them was in pieces, flames eating away at what remains of the walls. The beds were catching on fire, too. 

But he can't care for that, at the moment. His head was pounding, mind swimming. He really just wanted to lay back and shut his eyes for a moment, maybe soak in the warmth. He begins to lean backwards, but hands on his shoulders begin to jostle him, and his eyes snap open, everything crashing down around him in a split second. 

Sound, vision and feeling all return to him in a wave and he's left disoriented for a moment. Eiji is holding his shoulders, shaking them, calling out his name, and Ash can faintly think that the Jap hadn't taken this time to escape. 

Never trust a Jap?

“Ash! Ash!!” Huh. Ash hadn't noticed how funny his name sounded when Eiji called it out loud. He added a u at the end, for some reason, like he were sneezing. It was kind of cute. “We got to go, Ash!” Oh, he was also reverting back to a more Japanese accent, more broken English. He really was panicked. 

He shakes his head, clears his thoughts. “Fuck, fuck, shit,” Ash mutters as he pushes to his feet, swaying for only a moment. He could feel his skin, where the fire had touched it, already turning black, burnt. Then he turns his gaze to Eiji, ignoring the flames and rubble for now. “Eiji, are you okay?” 

He was sure he fucked up the Jap’s name. It was the first time he'd said it, after all, but Eiji didn't seem to care. “Yeah, but we need to go.” 

Ash nods, regretting the movement instantly when it causes his head to pound again. He could still hear the ringing in his ears. “Come on,” he said, extending a hand out. Eiji takes, and his skin is warm and smooth on his rough and calloused hands. He helps the Jap to his feet and glances around, searching for an exit. 

Eiji points to a break in the fire and they both run through it, the building falling apart around them as they continue running. There are few survivors further into the building, and Ash can smell the burning flesh, see the torn bodies. He keeps his grip on Eiji’s hand, and the Jap doesn't let go either. 

They turn the corner which Ash knows to lead to the exit, and they run into Lobo, who momentarily raises a gun towards them. Then, he registers Ash’s face and lowers it, though he locks a glare on Eiji’s face. Ash angles a shoulder in front of him, suddenly feeling protective of him. 

“What the fuck is going on?” Lobo demands, his voice scratchy from the smoke. Ash’s is no better. 

“Japanese reinforcements,” Ash informed him. Lobo’s eyes narrow dangerously. He raises the gun towards Eiji in the next moment. Ash’s veins boil with rage once more. 

“Did this Nip rat us out somehow?” Lobo growled, and Eiji’s eyes widen. 

“No!” Ash yelled, stepping to be more in Lobo’s way, so he couldn't shoot Eiji. Lobo turns his narrowed eyes on Ash. “He has nothing to do with it!” He lets his own eyes narrow, letting the lynx out, “So don't you dare fucking hurt him.” 

Lobo keeps his gun held for a few more seconds, until a large piece of the roof falls near them, blocking of the way that Ash and Eiji has come from. Then he shakes his head and lowers the gun. “Fuck it,” he muttered, and turns. “Come on, let's get the fuck out of here!” 

Ash hesitated before following after, tugging Eiji after him. Lobo leads the way from the burning building, and they all gasp as they finally reach fresh air. Ash finally releases Eiji’s hand to be able to better gasp for air, the sun beating down on them. 

It's the sound of multiple footsteps and guns cocking that has Ash back on the defense. They're surrounded by Japanese soldiers, all holding their guns at them. 

“両手をあげろ!” one of the Japs shouts, and Lobo and Ash meet eyes, confused. 

“They want hands in the air!” Eiji exclaimed, breathless. His hands are already up, smoke staining his tanned skin. Ash nods to Lobo and they both throw their hands up. 

“地面にあなたの武器を投げます!” the same Jap continues to shout the orders. 

“Throw your weapons down,” Eiji translated, and Ash didn't know how grateful he was that Eiji was a Jap now. If he hadn't been here, things would have probably gone badly already. 

Lobo does so immediately, but Ash hesitates. He doesn't want to be armless, but he also knows that he can't do anything in this current situation, even if he did hold onto his pistol. He was literally surrounded. So, he does drop his pistol. Japanese soldiers move forward and collect both of their weapons before drawing back again. 

“ひざまずいて!” the officer shouts again. 

Eiji’s eyes widen, “No.” He whispered. 

“What?” Ash questioned quickly, looking over at him. 

“They're going to kill us,” Eiji whispers fearfully. Ash’s eyes widen and Lobo tenses. But then Eiji is stepping forward, guns turning towards him. 

“Eiji!” Ash called, but Eiji doesn't turn back. 

“待つ!” Eiji yells back, finally returning to his first language. The Japanese soldiers appear to be surprised by the fact one of them could speak their language. “殺さないでください。彼らは有用な情報を持っています。”

Some of the soldiers begin to speak to the lead soldier, and they all look towards one another. Whatever Eiji said had them confused, or unsure. Ash glances to Lobo once again. Their lives were dependent on what their former prisoner said about them. 

“Eiji,” Ash whispered sharply. “What did you say?” 

“I told them not to kill you,” Eiji replied, without looking away from the lead officer. “That you know information they could use.” 

“あなたは誰？なぜあなたはここにいるのですか？”

“What are they saying?” Lobo asked. 

“Sh,” Eiji hushed. And then switches back to Japanese. Ash is sure he would have gotten a headache by doing that if it were him. “私は奥村英二です。私はここで捕虜になりました。私は彼らが役に立つかもしれないことを知っているのを知っています。” 

The Japanese soldier narrows his eyes. The air grows tense, before he nods. “彼らに静かに来るように言うか、我々は彼らを撃ちます.” 

Eiji nods and turns to the other two. “They said to come quietly but that they will not kill you,” he told them. Ash frowns. 

“Why? So they can kill us later?” Ash snapped. Eiji frowns as well now. 

“I am trying to help you,” Eiji hissed, and nods to the lead soldier. “Now do not fight and let them handcuff you.”

Ash grimaces. Lobo looks to him, and then Eiji, and then shakes his head. “Goddammit,” he cursed, stepping forward. Japanese soldiers rush forward instantly, slapping the cuffs around his wrists. 

“Ash, please,” Eiji said pleadingly. 

Ash lets out an angered noise, but steps forward as well. The cuffs are slapped on his wrists and his shoulder is hit by the butt of a rifle and he stumbles forward. They surround Eiji, and they converse in rapid Japanese, before he falls into line beside Ash, without the handcuffs. 

“What?” Ash asked in a whisper. 

“They just wanted to know how long I’d been here,” Eiji translated. Then he points forward. “They want you and Lobo to start walking. I'm supposed to be translator.”

“None of them know English?” Lobo called. “So we can call them motherfuckers without them knowing?”

Ash has to smirk despite the situation. Eiji nods. “Basically, yeah,” he answered. He points again. “You should start walking.” 

And so Ash and Lobo do, with Eiji walking beside them. Every now and then a soldier will strike Ash or Lobo with one of their guns, or yell angrily at them with Eiji quickly translating(and then attempting to calm the soldier from hurting them further). 

“Damn pieces of shit,” Lobo grumbled as he straightens from another hit. 

“Sorry about them,” Eiji said, watching the horizon. They are headed into the trees, further inland, away from the coast and cliffs. 

“Why are you sorry?” Ash asked because here he goes again. 

“They're my people,” Eiji replied with the shrug of his shoulders. 

\-----

The sun is brutal, causing the burns on Ash’s back to stun even worse. He bites on his tongue and does his best to be quiet, refusing to show pain to the Japs. Lobo is beginning to limp, and he wonders why. Was he injured in the bombing? 

The situation was looking bleak. They were captured by the Japs and would be sent to one of those hellish camps Eiji had told him about, and probably end up like… like Griffin. Ash forces those thoughts away. 

That's when there are more footsteps from the trees, and suddenly American soldiers are leaping onto the sand, firing at the Japs. The Japanese soldiers panic, firing back instinctively. Eiji leaps forward and tackles Ash to the ground, like Ash had done to him in the base. And Ash still wasn't supposed to trust a Jap, right, Shorter? 

As the firing calms a bit, Eiji helps Ash stand, and the American hisses in pain as his burn flares with pain again. Ash looks around at the situation, finding there to be firing from either side of them. He pulls Eiji to where he'd seen the Americans come from, Lobo following after them. 

“Ash!” 

That was Shorter’s voice. So he’d survived their offense. Thank god. 

A Japanese soldier steps in front of the three heading for the Americans, starting to yell something, before a bullet shoots through his skull, cutting him off abruptly. So they begin to run again.

A grenade flies over head, and an explosion is heard behind them. They keep running. 

They break into the trees, but Ash trips on some kind of bush and falls flat on his face. How embarrassing. Eiji helps him up and they continue running. 

They reach Shorter not long later, breaking through the squad. Ash goes straight to Shorter and gives him a hug, which surprised the Chinese man for only a second before he hugs him back. But when he pulls back, he finds that Lobo has gone ahead to find a better commanding point and that Eiji is being held at gunpoint by Yut-Lung. 

Ash won't have that. 

He storms forward and tears the gun from Yut-Lung’s hands. He has a bit of difficulty doing that, since his hands are still cuffed, but he ends up throwing it to the ground. “He kept Corporal Lobo and I alive until now. You will not point a gun at him,” he snapped. 

“But Ash, he's a Nip,” Shorter pointed out, glaring at Eiji. Eiji glances to Ash. 

“It is okay, Ash, I understand,” he told the American. He then gestures to the handcuffs on Ash. “Take these off of him, and put them on me if you have to. I am no threat, though.” 

“Of course you're not,” Ash growled. “You saved my life, dammit.” 

“Ash, you can't trust him, he's a Jap,” Shorter remarked. Alex and the rest of the squad are getting closer, the fighting forgotten momentarily as the two head men begin to argue. “I don't know what Japanese magic he’s put over you but he's the enemy goddammit.” 

“Tell me then, Shorter,” Ash snarled, the lynx coming forward eagerly. “Would the enemy wait for me in a burning building? Would the enemy help me escape the burning building? Would the enemy stop his fellow people from filling me with fucking led?!” 

“Maybe!” Shorter shouted back. Ash was really wanting the cuffs off, now. So he could punch Shorter right between his nose, so he couldn't wear his dumbass sunglasses anymore. “This could be all one huge fucking facade to get you to trust him for information!”

“That's one hell of an elaborate facade and you fucking know it, Shorter,” Ash yelled. 

Shorter opens his mouth to argue further. “Sergeant, I do believe you're outnumbered here,” Yut-Lung points out airily, twisting his ponytail. “We should restrain him before he can do anything.” 

“Lay on finger on him, you fucking chink,” Ash snarled, surprising everyone in the squad with his usage of a slur. Ash never used slurs against any ethnic group, even as everyone else around him did. “And I’ll rip it off.” 

“Everyone calm the fuck down!” it was Corporal Lobo. He was winged by another soldier on either side, and he was looking pointedly at Ash. Then he looks at Shorter and continues, “The Jap did actually help us. He is not to be treated as a prisoner, or an enemy. Does everyone understand that.” 

No one speaks. 

“I said,” Lobo raises his voice, “Does everyone understand?” 

There are murmured “yes sirs”. 

“Good. He's in your squad's custody,” Lobo continues. “More specifically, he is in Sergeant Lynx’s custody. He will be held responsible for any of the Jap’s misbehaving. Now, get back to fucking work.” 

Lobo continues on, probably to give out more orders to the rest of the squads. 

Ash relaxes, glad to now know that Eiji would be safe. The Jap smiles at him, looking tired. But, then, he gets to work on getting the handcuffs off. Ash holds his arms still to let him do it. 

“I can't believe we’re not taking a Jap prisoner,” Shorter muttered, shaking his head. “But whatever the Corporal says. Get back to work, everyone. Spread back out.” 

Yut-Lung doesn't move. He keeps his eyes locked on Eiji’s face as the Jap tries to help Ash get the handcuffs off. Ash can see the scorn and malice in the Chinese’s eyes, and Ash sends a deadly glare back to him. Lee turns then with the flick of his ponytail and walks away, into the thicker parts of the battle. 

Eiji finally managed to break the cuffs off. Ash grins his thanks and then takes the pistol Shorter offers him. Then, with Eiji close beside him, Aah gets to work, shooting any Jap that gets into his line of sight. 

\-----

It takes hours for the skirmish to end. What's left of the Japanese flee, filling their ships as their planes fly over head. There's the order to take cover and then bombs are being dropped before the US Air Force can retaliate. 

There are many casualties on both sides. But none in Ash’s squad. 

The trek for their new base is long, and even with the sun beginning to sink under the horizon, it's terribly hot. Ash makes sure Eiji sticks close to him, having already told him, “If you stray, they will shoot you. You're their enemy.” Eiji had nodded in solemn understanding. 

Lobo had already announced that Eiji was not a prisoner currently, but tensions were still high. Ash was having a hard enough time keeping Yut-Lung from popping a bullet in Eiji’s skull. 

Though, he did understand why the Chinese man held such an animosity towards the Japanese man. He'd only read of what the Japs were doing to the Chinese and other Asian countries populations, but he knew it was no better than how they treated their POWs. 

But still. Eiji wasn't one of those monsters who treated other human beings like that. He was kind and gentle, even to his captors, and adorable-

Ash shook his head. He really needs to stop thinking like that. 

They reach the new base as the moon rises, though Ash is pretty sure they've secured this island. It was only a matter of time before they packed up and headed for the next one. Probably first thing in the morning. 

But until then, they say in the cafeteria and ate what wasn't mush. It was actual meat, and the soldiers ate it with vigor. They saved this meat for special victories such as this one. Eiji picked at the food. 

“Come on, Nip,” Shorter said. “It's not poisoned. We’re not monsters like that.” 

Eiji flinches at Shorter’s words and Ash throws him a glare. “Shut the fuck up, Shorter,” he snapped. “Or should I start calling you a chink along with Lee?” 

“You wouldn't,” Shorter said, his eyes going wide beneath his glasses. Ash narrows his eyes to make his point. Shorter clears his throat. “Whatever, man.” He looks up at Eiji. “What is your name, anyway?” 

At first, Eiji seems to be taken by surprise at the question. Then he shifts and replies, “Okumura Eiji.” He pauses. “It is Eiji.” 

“Cool,” Shorter said, and reaches his hand across the table. Ash watches the exchange, glad Shorter could pull his head out of his ass this quick. “I'm Shorter Wong. Just call me Shorter, though.”

They shook hands, and Eiji smiles a tad nervously. He was still on dangerous waters, after all. But Ash would make sure he was safe. 

He couldn't quite understand just why he was so protective over the Japanese man suddenly, but he tries not to question it. 

\----

“What?!” Ash exclaimed, glaring at Lobo behind the desk. He was currently in the Corporal’s office, Eiji standing behind him. It was another small room with a desk on one end and a window behind the desk. The blinds were drawn. “You can't do that! He's not an enemy!” 

“Actually, I have to, Ash,” Lobo replied, eyebrows scrunched together. He is leaning over the desk and rubbing at the bridge of his nose, stressed. “The higher ups won't allow him to stay another day.” 

Ash bites the inside of his cheek, hands clenching at his sides. “Where will they send him?”

“Camp Lordsburg in New Mexico,” Lobo replies. “It's mostly an internment camp, but they don't want to send him to a place with Nazis or Germans.” 

“Yeah,” Ash said sharply. “They'd probably kill him, right?” 

“Ash.” it was the slightly adorable way of saying his name. God that thought of his was gross. He turns to face Eiji, who is smiling up at him. “I will be okay. After the War, you can find me. Okay?” He grasps Ash’s hand with his own, and they fit perfectly together. Ash doesn't realize how intimemt this is until Lobo clears his throat, and they both jump. “Just promise me you will stay alive.” 

Ash meets his eyes. To be honest, before he’s met Eiji, he hadn't had much concern for his life. He hadn't cared if he'd lived or died, or even if he got majorly injured. But now, at Eiji’s words, Ash suddenly wanted to stay alive. He wanted to make through the War with his life, find Eiji, and… he wasn't sure what he wanted to do after that. But he knew he wanted to find Eiji, and that was enough for him. 

“Okay,” Ash responded. “I promise.” 

Eiji gives him a blinding smile, and his heart skips a beat. 

God this wasn't good. He was turning into a homosexual. 

Why didn't he want to stop it? 

\----

Eiji was shipped out a few days later. He'd given Ash a hug before he was dragged away by the soldiers who had come to take him, smiling at him the entire time he was dragged away. Ash had watched him with a tight throat. 

It was hard to get back into the fighting and patrolling after that, but Ash somehow managed. He kept Eiji in his mind as a motivation. 

They moved islands a week later. So Ash’s original assumption time was incorrect. 

This island landing had been more of a mess than the last one. Some of the ships opened up too soon and left the soldiers stranded even farther out from shore than usual. 

Ash had been one of these stranded soldiers, of course, and had had to half swim half trudge towards the island. His squad struggled to keep up with his speed. He glanced up at one point towards the sky, half envious of the men being dropped from the planes. Well, he was, until one of the soldiers was shot and all the parachute brought in was a lifeless corpse. 

He’ll stick to being deployed through the water, thanks. Even if it did cause every single of his muscles to strain and burn. 

He hadn't even reached the shore yet. 

They took the island a few weeks later. 

Ash sits in the shade of a building broken by mortars and grenades and thoughts of a family living in it before the War came to mind. He pushed them away and took a swig of water from his canteen. 

His squad hopped to the next island, and the entrance was easier this time. They were closer, so Ash wasn't as tired when they got to the white stained sand and got a higher kill count than before. 

This pattern continues for months. Ash isn't even sure for how long. Days and nights blur and merge together and Ash gets more and more tired everyday. So does Shorter and his squad. But they don't say anything about it. 

“When I get back to the World,” Shorter is saying one night, the light from a fire framing his face. The others in the squad are sprawled around the flames, and there are other fires around them with other squads. They didn't have a base on this island, and had to sleep outside in tents. If you had one, anyway. “I'm going to get myself three broads. All of them hot.” 

Alex snorts. “Three? Why three?” 

“Three’s my lucky number.” 

“Why’s that?”

“It's the number of years I've survived this damn war.” 

Ah. So that's how long they'd been fighting. 

“Well, when I get back to the World,” Alex begins. “I'm going to go to college and get a degree in fucking...uuuhh. Bones, what should I get a degree in?” He nudges the other man, who holds but says nothing. He then laughs. “He fell asleep.” 

“I’m going home after the War,” Yut-Lung informs everyone, sprawled out on the ground. He's on top of a blanket. “Finally I’ll be able to return to a country not filled with idiot Americans.” 

Shorter taps him with his foot, and the Chinese man basically hisses at him. “Come on. You know you love me.” 

“Whatever,” Lee said with the roll of his eyes. 

“I'm gonna way a fuck ton of chocolate!” Kong exclaimed. “The good kind, too. Not this shit they give us, calling it chocolate.” 

They then look expectantly at Ash, who shrugs in return. “I just want to settle down and never think about this war ever again.” 

Shorter chortles. “Good luck finding a wife to settle down with. You're a handful!” 

The others hoot, but Ash doesn't respond. He hadn't been thinking of ever finding a wife. All he'd thought of was finding Eiji and seeing his smile again. 

\----

They say it wasn't that long after- thought to Ash, it felt like years had passed- before the War was finally ended. For both America and Europe. 

The boys had yelled and shouted and cheered. They started a bonfire on the beach, tossing things like old uniforms and leather into the flames. Some even threw in their patches to the higher up’s horror. 

“Fuck yeah!” Shorter exclaimed loudly, his voice echoing through the valley they were sat in. They'd been there to try and surprise attack the Japanese, but now that didn't matter. The war was over. “Gonna get myself some broads!!” 

Alex, Kong and Bones were actually dancing together around the fire. And even Yut-Lung was having a reaction. There were tears in his eyes and he was crying, whispering to himself, “I did it Mother, I did it.” 

Ash watches from afar, excited to return home as well. 

He was going to find Eiji. 

\----

It took a couple of weeks for them all to be picked up from the island they'd been on- Ash still didn't care for the name- and returned home. There were crowds waiting to greet him, cheering and applauding their victory. Shorter pumped the air. Yut-Lung had went off on a separate plane from them. 

“Damn glad I won't be seeing you lot anymore,” he'd said as they stood outside of his plane. They were seeing him off after being with one another for over three years. It was hard for all of them. 

“You get home and tell them how annoying us Americans were,” Shorter remarked, and Ash knows he'd never admit it, but there were tears in the corners of his eyes. Yut-Lung smirks. 

“You don't even have to tell me to do that,” he said. “It was the first thing on my mind.” 

Shorter had hugged him, as well as Bones and Kong. Ash and Alex watched from the sidelines, finding the sight amusing. Yut-Lung pushed the Americans away, his face tomato red. 

“See ya,” Ash had said, saluting him. And even though he'd never seen Yut-Lung salute before, but he did in that moment for Ash. 

“See ya, you filthy Americans,” he'd said, and then stepped onto the plane with the other Chinese soldiers. 

Ash doesn't think he’ll ever see him again. 

Now he is weaving through the crowd- no one would be waiting for him, and heads for the reception desk. They'd landed in New York, as all returning soldiers did, but he knows he needed to get to New Mexico. Shorter follows him, throwing an arm over his shoulders. 

“Come on, man,” he said. “Let's go get some beers! Find some broads and-” 

“I'm finding Eiji,” Ash interrupted, surprising Shorter. 

“You mean the Jap?” At Ash’s nod, Shorter tilts his head. “Why?” 

“I don't know but… he told me to, okay?” he said, hoping that would suffice. He didn't want Shorter to know it was out of love, out of homosexuality. No one could know. “So I'm going to find him and… help him settle into America. He had said he wanted to live here.” 

“Huh,” Shorter said. Then he grins and pats Ash on the back. “Then you go and find that Jap.” He grins wider. “Who knows? He may even become your broad one day.” 

Ash’s eyes widen and he whacks Shorter on the back of his head, face heating up. “I ought to have you court martialed.” 

“No longer in the army.” 

“Whatever. See ya, dude,” he said, and the two hug. 

Shorter waves to him as they walk their separate ways. 

Ash books a flight for New Mexico and sleeps the duration of the flight. The War had made him tired. More tired than he thinks he’ll ever be, and he doesn't think he’ll ever be able to be not tired anymore. 

The plane lands and Ash instantly begins searching. He looks everywhere, starting at the former camp. He looks in the areas around it, checking every house and apartment. 

Who would have guessed he’d find him in the park, standing beneath a tree from his homeland, a cherry blossom tree. The blossoms were falling around him, making it look like he was standing in a movie.

Ash can feel his heart swell at just the sight of the man, and, as though sensing eyes staring at him, Eiji slowly turns, one of the blossoms held in his hands. His eyes widen when he sees Ash, and they fill with tears a moment later. 

They run to one another and hug, and Ash lifts him off the ground, twirling a little. 

“You're alive!” Eiji cried out joyously, grabbing either side of Ash’s face. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and Ash could feel his own tears forming. In that moment, Ash decides to screw anyone who may judge them. He presses their foreheads together, and Eiji rests his hands on Ash’s shoulders. “You’re alive.” 

“I promised, didn't I?” Ash said, and smiles. Eiji smiles tearfully back up to him, and suddenly their lips meet. 

Okay okay. Ash was maybe a little homosexual. But only for Eiji.

**Author's Note:**

> :))))))) talk to me i hope this was good lol


End file.
